Previews

Spawn: Armageddon

Namco is ready to release the forces of Hell, wrapped in a huge red cape. But is a dozen yards of demonic cloth enough to make this brawler fly?

Spiffy:

Smooth, musclebound Spawn; lots of guns; nifty chains.

Iffy:

Graphics need work; levels need purpose; chain grappling difficult.

It's been ten years since Todd McFarlane broke from Marvel to set up Image comics, from which he could push his own dark post-Frank Miller version of the superhero. Enter Spawn, a formerly dead cat named Al Simmons, back from Hell with big chains and a bigger red cape, not to mention a generous helping of the old ultra-violence. Trouble is, despite dozens of grabs at respectability (Big Mac's homerun balls, anyone?), Spawn was never more than a second-rate character dressed out in blood and venom.

Whether that makes him the perfect candidate for an old-school brawler is open to question, but Namco's gone and made the game anyway. The story goes like this: A renegade group of angels has decided to eliminate Hell, and it looks like Earth is going to get charred in the process. In preparation, strange things have begun to occur, and demonic forces have broken into our plane. He may be dark, but even Spawn's got feelings about his old home, so open the ammo box because the angel killin' is about to commence. Since Spawn is a pretty violent guy, you get to live the nightmare, beating down endless enemies in 23 open but fairly linear 3D levels.

As you'd expect from a proper beat-'em-up, bare hands aren't really the way to tackle the demons of Hell. Spawn's got a wheelbarrow full of weapons to help pull his plan off -- exactly how do all those guns fit in his tights, anyway? Before the guns even come into the picture, though, two default weapons keep Spawn safe on the streets. That billowing cape hides what must be a pretty unwieldy axe, so sharp it cuts the air when swung. That's bad for the demons and angels alike. Basic three-tap button combos maximize the damage.

Also in the standard issue is a set of chains straight out of Hellraiser. They fly out of Spawn's chest, tethered to what I'm really hoping is some hidden point on his costume -- the alternative is too much to bear. Launch them, and by holding fire you can ensnare enemies and tear them apart with the devilish links. Grapple points are also scattered throughout the game, which use the chains to give access to new areas. In the current build many of these points are difficult to actually use -- we'll have to hope that this will be fixed, as it makes progression difficult.

Back to the guns. Quite a few firearms will ultimately be at your disposal, from the lowly sawed-off shotgun to large-scale military gear. Ammo is found lying around, which saves a trip to the local gun shop. But real-world firearms aren't enough to fight angels, so Spawn is packing the green-glowing power of Hell. It's versatile stuff, too, usable as a weapon, shield, speed boost, and more. Just for the sake of consistency, green orbs can be found to replenish your batteries.

The one thing McFarlane's books always have going for them is a pretty face, so you can bet that Namco's done some homework on that front. While this is no Soul Calibur II, Armageddon isn't a bad-looking game, with a bulky imposing model for its primary hero and smooth animations to power him. Though the demo let me get a foot in the door of each level, many are still unfinished, with a lot of balance issues left to work out. But the appearance and variety of locations is promising, even if many are the types of places you'd expect a guy like Spawn to hand out: warehouses, alleys, and docks. Hey, maybe he's moonlighting as a teamster?

You won't get anything fancy like online play or a free pass to roam through Hell, but Spawn looks like it can satisfy anyone who digs the descendants of Golden Axe. There are thousands of demons and angels out there waiting to be killed, and you've got the means to do it. Armageddon looks like pretty straightforward stuff, but who said it takes complicated theology to set the divine balance to rights?